Six books of the Christian Bible are known as books of poetry: Labor, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Lamentations. These books are made up almost entirely of poems, songs, and wise sayings that the ancient Jews (and the Christians who followed them) used to make wise decisions and worship God.
Five of these books are clustered in the middle of the Old Testament. the poetry books come right after a long series of books telling the story of how the ancient Israelites were exiled from their promised land, and they come right before the prophecy books. (Lamentations is the only exception: this little songbook is nestled next to Jeremiah in the prophecy section.)
You are reading: Books of the bible poem
This is a quick beginner’s guide to bible poetry books, and here’s what we’re going to cover:
- what kind of poetry is in the bible?
- where are the poetry books in the bible?
- wisdom literature (work, proverbs, ecclesiastes )
- songbooks (psalms, canticles, lamentations)
(And if you want a more complete understanding of these books and how they fit into the Bible as a whole, you should check out my book, The Beginner’s Guide to the Bible.)
what kind of poetry is in the bible?
Warning: You won’t find “roses are red” verses in these parts of the Bible. these six books are written in ancient Hebrew and the poetry is much more like the poetry of other ancient Near Eastern cultures.
When English readers learn about poetry, we are often introduced to the concepts of rhythm and rhyme. it is the art of joining the sounds of words. the ancient Hebrews did something similar, but instead of creating lines with similar sounds, their lines are linked by similar concepts. Biblical scholars call this parallelism, and it is the most important element of Hebrew poetry that you should know.
Biblical authors use various types of parallelism, but two high-level types dominate the pages of scripture.
1. synonymous parallelism (same thought repeated)
It is common for biblical poets to write two or more lines that share the same thought. sometimes the second line reaffirms the first, like david’s cry for help at the beginning of the psalms:
Lord, how many are my enemies! how many rise up against me! (Ps 3:1)
and sometimes the second line builds on or intensifies the first. A good example of this is how the main speaker in the book of ecclesiastes describes the repeating cycle of the universe, particularly how not only is the ocean always full, but the rivers never run dry:
all streams flow into the sea, but the sea is never full. to the place where the streams come from, there they return again. (ec 1:7)
This type of parallelism can come in more than two lines. for example, the poetry in the workbook begins with work (which is in a very, very bad situation) curses the day he was born. unleashes a series of three-line curses, including:
may the gloom and total darkness claim it once again; let a cloud settle over him; let the blackness overwhelm him. (job 3:5)
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You will find this not only in the six books of poetry, but also in other parts of the scriptures.
2. antithetical parallelism (contrast and comparison)
Sometimes poets choose to put opposing thoughts side by side to make their point. these thoughts do not necessarily express opposing ideas; they usually describe two sides of the same principle.
The prologue of the book of proverbs gives us a classic example of a thought that is expressed by contrasting two opposite results:
The beginning of knowledge is the fear of the Lord, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (pr 1:7)
These contrasts can occur on a scale larger than a single verse. for example, the beginning of the psalms presents the reader with two sides of the same coin. Blessings await those who delight in Torah:
Blessed is the one who does not walk like the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which bears its fruit in due time and whose leaf does not fall; everything he does prospers. (Ps 1:1-3, emphasis added).
Those who follow the laws of God are compared to a healthy, prosperous tree that bears fruit. But those who oppose God’s ways receive the opposite treatment: the psalmist compares them to the worthless part of a plant that is blown away by the wind:
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that drives away. therefore the wicked will not rise in judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. (salt 1:4-5)
The author sums it all up in one powerful sentence below:
For the Lord keeps the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. (salt 1:6)
where are the poetry books in the bible?
Christians put five of these poetry books in the middle of the Old Testament: just after the “history” books (joshua-esther) and before the “prophecy” books (isaiah-malachi).
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However, this is not how these books were organized during the time of Jesus, Peter, and Paul.
The ancient Jews grouped the books of our Old Testament (which they called the scriptures) into three general groups:
- the law, which tells the story of how israel and their god came together
- the prophets, which tells the story of how israel rejected god and was exiled from their land, often through long, poetic speeches.
- and the writings, a collection of documents that helped the Jews remain loyal to their god despite being scattered by foreign empires.
there was no “poetry” section, because poetry is everywhere in the old testament. In fact, the poetry-filled books of the prophets and writings represent more content in the Bible than the entire New Testament.
Christians reorganized the books of the Old Testament, putting the history of Israel first and the prophetic discourses (which are also mostly poetry) last. but some of these books didn’t fit into either category, so we created a new section: “poetry books.”
In case you’re curious, these six books were considered part of the writing section.
wisdom books in the bible (work, proverbs, ecclesiastes)
These three books help followers of God think about how the world works, how it should work, and how to deal with the difference between the two. The most celebrated act of wisdom in the Bible is God’s creation of heaven and earth: The God of Israel brings a complex and beautiful world out of cosmic chaos. These books invite the reader to participate in God’s wisdom bringing justice, mercy, and insight to the world around us.
work
the work begins in a tragedy. is a famous biblical story about an innocent man who loses everything. Job presents his case to God, demanding an explanation for the difficulties he is experiencing. god responds by showing job how big and complex the world is, and what kind of wisdom is needed to create and maintain that world. job (like the reader) admits that god’s wisdom operates on a scale that sometimes we humans just can’t see.
proverbs
Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings from the ancient Near East, many of which are associated with the wise King Solomon. This book invites the reader to gain more and more wisdom, aligning more of our decisions and actions with God’s good order for the universe.
ecclesiastes
ecclesiastes explores the unpredictability of life: we have an idea of how the world should work, but it rarely does. and no matter how wise you are, or how hard you work, or how pious your faith, you have no guarantees. The book encourages readers to be loyal to God and enjoy the simple things in life, because you really don’t know what will happen tomorrow.
books of songs in the bible (psalms, song of songs, lamentations)
The other three books in this section are collections of poems, several of which were probably set to music. some of these songs are written as prayers to be sung to god, some are written to be sung to other people. there are at least 185 songs in the bible, and most of them are found in these books.
psalms
the book of psalms is a five-volume collection of poems that the jews used to worship and understand god. It begins with two promises: blessings for those who delight in the Torah (which also has five parts), and a future messianic king who will restore Jerusalem and rule the nations in peace and justice. The book calls readers to praise the Lord and trust in his justice, mercy, and love.
song of solomon
the song of songs, which is associated with solomon, is a romantic poem that paints a picture of the paradise found in human love. this little book portrays love as something intense and powerful, dangerous and beautiful.
laments
the little book of lamentations is a collection of five dirges, each of which laments the fall of jerusalem. It expresses anguish and sadness, but also hope that God will fulfill his promises, even when humans do not prove to be so trustworthy.
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